200. Major event
This major event was related to the two kingdoms, and the King of Hittite, Assyria, actually made a request to the city of Salem. The city of Salem was nominally established in the territory of the Hittite Kingdom, and the trade route entrance to the Charcoal Marsh was also controlled by the Hittite Kingdom. King Asher's use of a "request" in the name of a "request" was already giving a lot of face, which was actually tantamount to an order. This was the cause and effect of the matter –
After the battle, Aesop had to fulfill his pre-war promise as soon as possible and reward the meritorious warriors in order to attract more people to serve the city of Salem. But many of the dead warriors were foreign explorers and peasants, who had no family in the city of Salem, and could not even find someone to compensate them. If the situation had been different, it would have been fine. It was not that the city of Salem did not want to reward them, but that these people did not have the life to receive it.
But after Joshua and Aesop discussed it, they issued a very interesting decree: according to the prior agreement, the warriors would receive corresponding land on the Plains of Duc according to the size of their military exploits. Many of the warriors who had fought in the war had died, but the city of Salem still granted them land.
The city of Salem announced the list of these people, their identities, and the land they had received, and made an announcement that if the legal heirs of these fallen soldiers came to the city of Salem, as long as they could prove their identity, they could register with the city's Agriculture Department to receive the land rewarded.
The largest number of dead warriors were the peasants sent by Syah, who died in battle on the Plains of Duc, but left their heirs land, which many people could hardly believe after hearing about.
So there was an endless stream of people from the Hittite territory to the city of Salem through the trade route of the Charcoal Marsh, some of whom came to inherit their fiefdoms, others came to seek refuge in the city of Salem in search of opportunities. This decree of the city of Salem was very attractive, and it was simply a blessing for the hooligans and proletarians everywhere on the continent.
Through the new policies formulated by Joshua, Aesop gathered an even larger population in the city of Salem in a short period of time after the war, with the number of registered residents exceeding 10,000. The two trade routes in the direction of Charcoal Marsh and Marduc City were also unprecedentedly lively. At this moment, King Asher of Hittite sent Celia as an emissary to deliver a letter of credence to the city of Salem, making a request to Lord Aesop and Amon behind the scenes.
The Hittite Kingdom was preparing to go to war with the Kingdom of Bablon again, and the first target to be attacked was the city of Marduc in the southeast corner of the Plains of Duc, and the battle plan was to seize the land east of the inland lake and west of the Euphrates River. King Asher planned to send two legions to flank them from the north of Hunan. The southern legion, of course, marched along the Syah Desert, while the northern army had to cross the Plains of Duc.
It was difficult for large legions to enter the Plains of Duc, but after the opening of the trade routes in the Charcoal Marsh, this tactic became possible. The exit of the trade route was in the hands of the city of Salem. So King Asher requested to pass through the territory controlled by Salem, and then head south to attack the city of Marduc. This request made it difficult for Aesop to agree, but also impossible to refuse.
Why did the King of Hittite want to launch a war against the Kingdom of Bablon at this time? The reasons were complicated, but the most important was that the young King wanted to make up for a regret in his heart, and also to realize his great dream of expanding his territory.
When Asher was still a prince, he fought a great battle against the Bablon army as commander-in-chief with the assistance of Goliath, and had clearly won a great victory, but because of the sudden death of his father and the usurpation of his brother, Prince Feng Nu, who came to negotiate with the Kingdom of Bablon, picked up a big bargain. This was a regret that Asher had never forgotten.
Asher also had the dream and ambition to leave a lasting legacy in the history of the kingdom, and when his position was stable and the domestic situation was stable, he wanted to raise troops to punish the Kingdom of Bablon, which had offended Hittite. There was almost no need for an excuse for this war, because the newly established city of Marduc by the Kingdom of Bablon was in the territory of Hittite, and although the Hittite Kingdom had never really controlled that place, it was still the nominal territory of the kingdom.
Another goal of the war was to achieve the results that should have been achieved in the past, which was to repel the Kingdom of Bablon to the east of the Euphrates River. As for the next step, the bigger strategic goal, Asher did not say, but it could also be guessed that if the city of Marduc and the land west of the Euphrates River were captured, it might not be impossible to control the entire Plains of Duc. But this was only a distant goal, and the first thing to do was to achieve the first victory.
After learning of King Asher's plan, Goliath neither encouraged nor objected, he just excused himself by saying that he was old and wanted to concentrate on the study of magic, and would no longer interfere in the matter. Goliath's reputation had spread throughout the kingdom, and he had become a figure second only to the gods, and King Asher had endured too long under the glory of the old man's figure. This time, King Asher had intended to rely entirely on his own prestige and wisdom to achieve meritorious service, and the battle plan was also personally formulated.
Goliath understood the young King's thoughts very well, knew why Asher wanted to start this war, and knew that he could not persuade him even if he wanted to, so he did not express his opinion. In fact, King Asher started this war because of an oracle, which Enril had just sent down at this time, instructing the Hittite Kingdom to attack the Kingdom of Bablon. This oracle completely catered to King Asher's intentions, and it was already impossible to change his mind.
The battle plan of a two-front pincer attack was to send the Legion of Anu into the Plains of Duc, which had to pass through the trade route controlled by the city of Salem. King Asher had written very clearly in the document that the legion he was sending was only passing through the route and would not threaten the city of Salem, and the target of the attack was the city of Marduc in the southeast.
King Asher was also well aware that Salem was at war with the Kingdom of Assyria in the north, and promised to keep the trade route through the Charcoal Marsh open so that Salem could receive continuous logistical support. The implication was that if Salem did not agree, he would order Syah to close the trade route.
If Aesop agreed, it would be tantamount to putting an elite legion of the Hittite Kingdom into the Plains of Duc, and it was hard to guarantee that it would not be a threat. If the Hittite Kingdom really took down the city of Marduc, it was hard to say whether they would take advantage of the situation to capture the entire Plains of Duc, including Salem, in the future. If they took advantage of the battle between Salem and Enril to launch a surprise attack from behind, they might take down Salem first.
If there was a choice, Aesop definitely did not want this situation to happen, but if he refused this request, King Asher would only need to give an order to close the trade route in the Charcoal Marsh and cut off the logistical supply line that Salem currently desperately needed. Aesop, George, and the others could not make up their minds, so they came to the shrine and called for Amon's guidance.
At this time, Link had been switched to the fortress that Raphael was originally guarding, while John was sent to guard another fortress. Aesop, George, El Mar, and Raphael, who were left in Salem, all came to the shrine and prayed to the statue, reading out the document sent by King Asher. They knew that Amon would definitely be able to hear it, and as long as he wanted to pay attention, he would reply.
After reading the document, they heard Amon's voice: "For a request that cannot be refused, you can only consider how to agree to it. You must have discussed it, what exactly did you decide to do? Asher is sending a legion into the Plains of Duc, and he should know what Salem is worried about, so there is no way he would not try to dispel your doubts. What kind of promise did he make? "
Aesop smiled bitterly. "Just now we only read out the document, and Celia sent another appointment. King Asher has appointed you as the Prince of Salem, the Glorious Supreme General, a title and status that is only higher than when you were in Eygut! The Hittite Kingdom has also granted you a large territory, two hundred miles around the city of Salem, which was awarded to you by Lasith Ii Pharaoh back then. He also promised to open up trade, levy taxes, and Salem only has to provide services to the kingdom during the war. "
Amon's voice had a smile in it. "This is something that we fought for ourselves, and he is very good at doing favors, giving it to me in the name of the kingdom. If I accept this appointment, it will be tantamount to officially incorporating Salem into the territory of the Hittite Kingdom, and if I refuse this appointment, it means that Salem will not cooperate. In fact, this appointment is a promise made by the Hittite Kingdom to Salem, how do you think we should deal with it? "
George replied: "Actually, it is very easy, you are Amun, already training in the divine kingdom, and even the King's orders will not be able to be delivered. We will leave these documents in the city, but we cannot deliver them to you, and you neither need to accept nor refuse. "
Amon: "Well, that is exactly how it should be handled. If we agree to the request of the Hittite Kingdom, there are naturally pros and cons, so what is the biggest disadvantage? "
George: "If we allow the Hittite Kingdom's legion to enter the Plains of Duc to attack Marduc City, then the trade route between us and Marduc City will be cut off, and all supplies will have to rely on the trade route in the Charcoal Marsh to replenish."
Amon: "The trade route in the Charcoal Marsh is much more important than the trade route in the direction of Marduc City, and if you refuse, the more important backup will be cut off, it is the lesser of two evils, and opening trade with the Hittite Kingdom is exactly what Salem needs."
Aesop added: "In the long run, letting a legion into the hinterland of the Plains of Duc is always a potential threat."
Amon interrupted him: "There will inevitably be more forces involved in the struggle for the Plains of Duc, it's just a matter of time. Even without today's incident, there will be something else tomorrow, and even the current population of Salem is obviously too small, let alone a thousand miles of fertile land? In the future, there will definitely be more than these three cities on the Plains of Duc. "
George nodded repeatedly and said: "There should indeed be such foresight, King Asher chose a very good time, we resisted the invasion from the north, and he took the opportunity to enter the hinterland, and even if he did not attack Marduc City, he could have chosen a suitable place to establish a city."
The final result of the discussion was naturally to agree to King Asher's request, and not only to agree, but also to provide more assistance. The city of Salem would serve as a logistical transit station for the Hittite Kingdom expeditionary army, providing trading, stockpiling, and transportation services for military supplies, and would also become a foothold for a large number of logistical personnel of this legion after they entered the plains, showing an attitude of full cooperation.
This kind of cooperation was exactly what the expeditionary army urgently needed, and in this way, it would also mean that the city of Salem would be brought to new prosperity. Not to mention anything else, a regular legion had tens of thousands of logistical personnel, and if they all settled in Salem, not only would they need to transport a large amount of supplies, but it would also be a very profitable business.
On the other hand, the official combatants of the Hittite Kingdom were not allowed to enter the city, and the defense of the fortress at the exit of the Charcoal Marsh trade route must also be the sole responsibility of Salem, and the expeditionary army was not allowed to intervene. The city of Salem built a total of three fortresses on the periphery, two of which were on either side of the Northern Main Street, precisely to counter the city of Enril.
The other fortress was on the edge of the Charcoal Marsh, guarding the exit of the trade route. If there was any movement on the side of the Hittite Kingdom, as long as this fortress was closed, it would be equivalent to cutting off the most important logistical supply line of the Hittite expeditionary army.
Agreeing to provide logistical services was based on the same idea, and if the cooperation was sincere, it would be beneficial to both sides, but if the Hittite Kingdom had other intentions, then the logistical supply of the expeditionary army was in the hands of the city of Salem, and it would not be so easy to fall out with them. If King Asher had no tricks up his sleeves, he should agree to these conditions that were beneficial to both sides.
These countermeasures had already been discussed by Aesop and the others, and they were just asking for Amon's permission to make the final decision. Amon nodded in agreement, and finally said: "You have placed me on the altar, and I need to concentrate on training in pursuit of the true transcendence of eternal life, and I may not appear for many years, and even if I do appear, it may not be as Amon. The affairs of the city are up to the people of the city, and since it has been decided, let's do it well. "
The matter had been discussed, and Aesop and the others did not dare to disturb Amun's training any longer, and were about to bow and leave when Raphael touched his nose and coughed. "Ah, Amun, Teacher Goliath wrote me a letter, and the letter also mentioned something else, I think I should tell you."
Amon: "Oh, what else did he say?"
Raphael asked hesitantly: "Don't you think the appointment given to you by the Hittite Kingdom is a little strange? You are not a member of the royal family, why did they make an exception and give you the title of Prince?"
Amon: "This King Asher does things in a unique way. You are a Hittite noble and the high priest of Syah, I would like to hear your opinion."
Raphael did not answer directly, but asked again: "Do you know why Asher deliberately sent the supreme mage Celia as an envoy? As far as I know, the expeditionary force sent by the Hittite Kingdom to the Plains of Duc is the Legion of Anu, and Celia will be appointed as the chief priest. She is a princess of the kingdom, and her father is the younger brother of the former King Lucier. "
Before Amon could say anything, El Mar became anxious and interrupted: "Why are you hesitating? If you have something to say, just say it, do you still want Amun to play riddles with you? "
Raphael continued a little embarrassedly: "This is what my teacher told me in private. He understands King Asher's intentions, and he hopes to marry Princess Celia to Amun, it's a long story …"
Celia was a princess of the kingdom, and she was young and beautiful, so she naturally had many suitors, even nobles of the surrounding kingdoms. But on the other hand, she was also a supreme mage, and this identity gave her the right to be arrogant. In other words, her standards were too high, and she did not like any of her many suitors.
When Lucier was alive, he was worried about his niece's marriage, and once asked Celia: "What kind of man do you want to marry? All the heroes of the kingdom, as long as you take a fancy to them, I will immediately order the marriage. "
Celia replied: "I don't care about identity, my suitor should be more successful than me, and must defeat me in a duel."
This sentence was tantamount to rejecting all suitors. Who could defeat a supreme mage? None of the suitors of Princess Celia had the ability to do so, not even thinking about it. As for those who had the ability, those supreme warriors or supreme mages had long been married and famous, and it was unlikely that they would pursue the princess of the kingdom.
But then there was one thing that everyone knew, and that was the duel between Celia and Amon, and Amon won! This duel naturally had nothing to do with the pursuit of Celia, but people inevitably linked the two events together. There were many people in the capital of Eygut talking about this matter, and many even said that only a great hero like Amon was worthy of a supreme mage like Princess Celia.
This time, King Asher deliberately sent Celia as an emissary to talk about cooperation, more or less to test whether Celia herself was willing to come to see Amon, and Celia accepted the task. Conferring Amon the title of Prince of Salem was already a hint, and if the two were really interested after they met, and Salem was willing to cooperate, King Asher would immediately act as a matchmaker. In a sense, this was also an idea of a political marriage, a means to control the city of Salem.
Raphael explained the reason behind it, and George kept winking at him to stop him from continuing, but then he started coughing again, almost kicking him with his foot. There was still a statue of Mourin standing on the altar, and it didn't seem appropriate to say this in person!
Raphael finally said helplessly: "As far as Master Goliath knows, King Asher does have this idea, and it seems to have something to do with Enril's oracle. As for the matters between the gods, I can't really comment. But King Asher did not say it explicitly, Master just asked me to say hello to Amun, and it seems that there is no need to worry at the moment, because Amun did not appear in Salem at all. "
Amon smiled and replied: "There's no need to talk about this anymore, I think King Asher himself is overthinking things."
Raphael added: "It's no wonder that His Majesty King would overthink things, you really don't have a family, and what kind of girl would be worthy of a great hero like you? To be fair, Princess Celia is an eighth-level supreme mage, and it's rare for a woman on the continent to have such an achievement. "
Amon, who was on the altar, was silent for a moment. Far away in the Garden of Eden, he inexplicably thought of another person, the Adoratrice of the Temple of Isis, Maria.
The people in the shrine were waiting for Amun to speak, but suddenly they heard the statue let out a cry of surprise: "Gabriel, come quickly!" Then there was silence, and no one could sense the gaze of the statue. Amon suddenly "left" the shrine at this time, and was not even in the mood to listen to what was happening in Salem.
George and the others looked at each other, something big must have happened in the Garden of Eden!
: I bow to thank all my readers for their blessings, it's so touching!
Coincidentally, the "Dubhe" just happened to complete a million words today. Holding a cup in his right hand and pouring wine in his left, he celebrated himself!
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